They fought the longest war in American historyThey fought the longest war in American history

In 1965 Vietnam seemed like just another foreign war, but it wasn't.It was different in many ways, as so were those that did the fighting.In World War II the average age of the combat soldier was 26In Vietnam he was 19.In inininininin Vietnam he was 19.

The shooting and fighting of the past two weeks continued today25 miles west of SaigonI really wasn't sure what was going on

Nininini Nineteen, 19, Ni-nineteen 1919,19,19,19

In Vietnam the combat soldier typically served a twelve month tour of duty butwas exposed to hostile fire almost everydayNinininininininininin 19 nininininninin 19

Hundreds of Thousands of men who saw heavy combat in Vietnam were arrestedsince dischargeTheir arrest rate is almost twice that of non-veterans of the same age.There are no accurate figures of how many of these men have been incarcerated. But, a Veterans Administration study concludes that the greater of Vetsexposure to combat could more likely affect his chances of being arrested orconvicted.

This is one legacy of the Vietnam War

All those who remember the warThey won't forget what they've seenDestruction of men in their primewhose average was 19Dedededededede-DestructionDedededededede-DestructionWar, WarDededede-Destruction, wa-wa-War, wa-War, WarDedededededede-DestructionWar, War

After World War II the Men came home together on troop ships, but the VietnamVet often arrived home within 48 hours of jungle combatPerhaps the most dramatic difference between World War II and Vietnam wascoming home, none of them received a hero's welcomeNone of them received a heroes welcome, none of them, none of themNenene Nenene None of them, none of them, none of them (etc)None of them received a hero's welcomeNone of them received a hero's welcome

According to a Veteran's Administration studyHalf of the Vietnam combat veterans suffered from what Psychiatrists callPost-Traumatic-Stress-DisorderMany vets complain of alienation, rage, or guiltSome succumb to suicidal thoughts Eight to Ten years after coming home almost eight-hundred-thousand men arestill fighting the Vietnam War

When we came back it was differentEverybody wants to know "How'd ithappened to those guys over there There's gotta be something wrong somewhereWe did what we had to doThere's gotta be something wrong somewherePeople wanted us to be ashamed of what it made usDad had no idea what he went to fight and he is nowAll we want to do is come homeAll we want to do is come homeWhat did we do it forAll we want to do is come homeWas it worth it?